Cables for transmitting electrical signals are widely known and have come into extensive commercial use. Examples of such cables include coaxial and twinaxial cables. Coaxial cables generally consist of a signal, or inner, conductor and a metallic outer shield separated from the inner conductor by a dielectric material. Twinaxial cables generally consist of two signal conductors that are each surrounded by a dielectric material that separates the conductors from a common metallic shield.
Copper is a commonly used material for the inner conductor due to its high conductivity. However, copper is a very heavy metal and increases the weight of the cable, wiring harnesses, and interconnect systems used in devices for transmitting electrical signals or electrical power.
With cables being used in almost all commercial products using electronics, such as automobiles, aircraft, and handheld devices, reducing the weight of the cables is important for economic and energy consumption concerns. It would be beneficial to reduce the weight of hard goods over that which is currently available by reducing the weight of cables therein.